The present invention relates generally to a gasoline nozzle which is used for dispensing gasoline at a service station and relates particularly to a gasoline nozzle which is equipped with air pollution control equipment, such as a gasoline fume return hose. The gasoline nozzle includes a housing which contains a normally closed valve and a trigger mechanism on the housing for opening the valve. The inner end of a rigid cylindrical tube is fixed to the housing and is operatively connected to the valve. The outer end of the tube extends from the housing and terminates in a free open end. The gasoline fume return hose which is currently being used is fixed to the housing and extends from the housing over the rigid tube to the outer free end of the tube. The suction hose ha a bellows-like shape which enables the hose to be compressed lengthwise along the central longitudinal access of the rigid tube. The hose is biased to the extended position by an internal spring wherein the outer end of the hose is aligned with the outer end of the rigid tube. The rigid tube has an outer annular protuberance between its outer end and the housing. When the fume return hose is in its extended position, the trigger mechanism is ineffective to open the valve within the housing so that gasoline cannot be pumped into a receptacle which is being filled. When the fume return hose is compressed toward the housing until the outer end of the hose is beyond the annular protuberance on the rigid tube, the valve within the housing can be effectively opened by the trigger mechanism. When the nozzle is used to fill a receptacle such as the gas tank of an automobile, the end of the nozzle is positioned over the opening to the gas tank and pushed with sufficient force to compress the hose and allow the rigid tube portion of the nozzle to extend into the opening. When the gasoline fume return hose is compressed, the outer end of the hose is moved beyond the protuberance on the rigid tube to allow the user to pump gasoline into gas tank by operating the trigger mechanism. The hose is operatively connected to a vacuum source so that gasoline fumes from the gasoline which is deposited into the gasoline tank are drawn into the open end of the hose and returned to the storage tank.
The gasoline nozzle which is equipped with a gasoline fume return hose works quite well with modern vehicles. However, there are many types of receptacles for gasoline which can not be satisfactorily or effectively filled by this type of gasoline nozzle. One of the more difficult receptacles to fill is a gasoline can which holds a few gallons of gasoline for providing gasoline for gasoline powered equipment, such as chain saws, lawn mowers, snow blowers, garden equipment, etc. An empty gasoline can is quite light and unstable so that when a gas nozzle which is equipped with a gasoline fume return hose is applied to the can, the force which must be applied to the gas can in order to compress the gasoline return hose to its compressed operative position is also likely to either tip the can over or force it away from underneath the nozzle. In either case, a displacement of the gasoline can results in spilled gasoline which more than offsets the gains in air pollution control for which the equipment associated with the gasoline nozzle is supposed to prevent. In addition to the environmental damage caused by the spilled gasoline, a fire hazard is created which often results in a call to the fire department as a precaution while the spill is being cleaned up. Many older cars, particularly antique cars such as the Model A Ford as well as certain foreign makes of cars are also not well suited to be serviced by gas nozzle which is equipped with a gasoline fume return hose. In some cases, the opening to the gasoline tank is not particularly well suited for such a gasoline nozzle. In some case, the gasoline tank is so constructed that the rigid tube portion of the nozzle extends down to the bottom of the tank so that the tank cannot be filled with gasoline or filled with only a fraction of its capacity. This problem is particularly acute with motorcycles. Also, the area around the opening to the gas tank of a motorcycle has a very fine finish which is likely to be damaged by the pressure of the gasoline fume return hose when it is forcibly applied against this finish. The only way to effectively fill the gasoline tank of a motorcycle is to hold the housing of the nozzle near the trigger mechanism with one hand while compressing the gasoline return hose with the other hand until the valve can be opened by the operation of the trigger mechanism while inserting the rigid tube only a short distance into the opening of the gasoline tank. This is very objectionable to the user and represents a source of irritation each time that such equipment is used. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art gasoline nozzles have been obviated by the present invention.
It is therefore, a principle object of the invention to provide an improvement for a gasoline nozzle which is equipped with the gasoline fume return hose which enables the nozzle to be used with ease for filling gasoline receptacles which are difficult to fill with nozzles of this type.
Another object of this invention is the provision of an adapter for use with a gasoline nozzle which is equipped with a gasoline fume return hose which enables the nozzle to be used with ease to fill gasoline receptacles which are normally difficult to fill with nozzles of this type.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a method of using a gasoline nozzle which is equipped with a gasoline fume return hose to enable the nozzle to be used with ease for filling gasoline receptacles which are difficult to fill with nozzles of this type.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.